My good buddy and fantastic engineer/producer Ed Seay has a saying that I’ve used in a number of books about the 3 P’s or “Pitch, Passion and Pocket.” That refers to the 3 things that every great vocal must have, although you can apply it to other musical performances as well. Ed is not only one…

green-label.com has compiled a list of the Top 3 ways in which social media and technology have changed Hip Hop and popular music. “Technology has had a tremendous impact on music,” the site says. “We went from 8-track tapes to being able to purchase and download a digital album in just a matter of seconds. However,…

The inimitable Nick Batt takes a deep look at the new Waldorf Pulse 2 analog synthesizer. The Waldorf Pulse 2 is a three-oscillator analog synth with 8-voice paraphonic operation. Batt says that it’s built like a tank and is a pretty classy synthesizer. Check out the video review and let us know what you think! The Waldorf Pulse…

Talib Kweli, son of activist parents, took the time to write his piece on the late great Nelson Mandela. Wise words and a great story from the BKMC. “…Nelson Mandela is so much more than a man. He is a phenomenon, a force of nature, one whose true brilliance we can’t possibly see without the…

British-based record producer Harmony Samuels has produced for the biggest names in the industry, from Ariana Grande to Fantasia and everyone in between. Watch as he tells his story as one of the most sought-after producers in the game today. [SkeeTV]

Developer Matt Heins has announced the Hackme Vector – a new way to interact with a modular synthesizer that’s a bit like a theremin on steroids. Vector is a three dimensional control interface designed for Eurorack modular system. It senses the location of a hand over its face and outputs a signal proportional to position…

Flying Lotus has shared a 24-track Zip file of previously unreleased music. Among the notable tracks are a remix of Kanye West’s ‘Black Skinhead’ featuring Thundercat and collaborations with Earl Sweatshirt, Shabazz Palaces and The Underachievers. Download it from Mediafire or Sendspace now. Yesterday (December 10), FlyLo Tweeted that his new album is set for…

Kanye West declared his godliness, Lorde ruled the charts, and Miley Cyrus twerked her way into living rooms in 2013. As the year comes to a close, the critics once again reveal their choices for the best in pop music. TIME, Entertainment Weekly, and Rolling Stone comb through their playlists and pick the top albums…

Dave Smith introduces the new Dave Smith Instruments’ Mopho SE – a “powerful, portable and professional synthesizer” in this new video. They’ve “taken it up a notch,” he says, and have added an octave to the Mopho SE keyboard, and have now outfitted it with the custom soft-touch knobs from the Prophet 12. It also…

ate last month, GoldieBlox backed off from using The Beastie Boys song, “Girls,” in an advertisement for girls’ toys. The toy company, though, stopped short of saying, “I’m sorry.”On Tuesday, the Beasties responded in court to GoldieBlox’s attempt to preemptively declare as “fair use” its viral video, which replaces the group’s original lyrics with new…